Thanks for taking part in Arch Awareness Month.  This was out fourth year promoting arch awareness and it was the best yet for sure! Be on the lookout for some lingering articles that we were working on that didn't make it to production for Arch Awareness Month, but that we still want to share with you all.  We really enjoyed learning the history of the arch hunters in Kentucky and greatly thank Todd Fife for that idea!

The database now stands at 2542 documented arches, with 2636 documented features (including false arches, windows that are less than 3' openings, and destroyed arches).  The map is also updated to 835 features.  The lead list still stands at 221 possible arches or leads.  

All of the Top 10's have been updated (if required) and can be found here.

If you'd like to submit an arch or a photo of one in the database please click above or right here and submit an arch!

The Natural Arch & Bridge Society (commonly referred to as NABS) is a national organization that was founded in 1988 whose mission is to gather information on arches, educate the public about arches, and to protect arches.  They hold rallies in the spring and fall where they spend a week visiting arches in different areas around the country.  They also produce a quarterly newsletter called SPAN that highlights the activities of its membership.  

Most of NABS is about arches out West, like the states that compose of the four corners.  NABS has occasionally visited Kentucky for a rally.  They last came in the fall of 2019 that was led by Bill Patrick.  It took place in the Red River Gorge region.  Before that, NABS visited Kentucky in 2005 for a fall rally that was led by Victor Fife & Larry Peterson.  The 2005 rally took place in both the Big South Fork & Red River Gorge regions.  Even earlier than that, there was a rally back in 1996 in Kentucky.  That rally took place in southern Kentucky and the Big South Fork region.

For more information about NABS, just visit their website.  

For a detailed history of NABS, check out the articles on their website here.

Below are the covers for the NABS newsletter SPAN, that included articles about the rallies that occurred in Kentucky.

History of the natural arch and bridge society. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2022, from http://www.naturalarches.org/history.html

Span - natural arch and bridge society. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2022, from http://www.naturalarches.org/span.htm

What does it require to be an official arch?

This is a much-debated topic.  A natural arch is a rock exposure that has a hole completely through it formed by the natural, selective removal of rock, leaving a relatively intact frame.  What that means is that any hole through rock, that was formed in a natural way, that has left solid rock all the way around it, is in theory a natural arch.  If you have hiked in areas of the Red River Gorge, you would know that you could find 1000’s of ‘arches’ that would qualify in just one small cliff line.

So how do we classify it as an arch or just a hole in Kentucky?

We use the measurement of 3 feet in any direction of the opening.  Meaning up, down, or sidewise of the smallest part of the opening of the arch.  So, it could be 3 feet tall and 1 inch wide at the smallest or most constricting part of the hole and it would be an arch. 

If the smallest part of the opening is 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet, it would not be an arch under this classification.

Why 3 feet?  That is close to the 1-meter requirement for a Minor Arch, per NABS.

Here are NABS Arch Levels:

Miniature Arch – all opening dimensions are smaller than 1 meter.

Minor Arch – one or more opening dimensions are at least 1 meter.

Significant Arch – the product of any two orthogonal opening dimensions is at least 10 square meters.

Major Arch – having a span of 50 meters or more.

Using those levels, the only major arch in Kentucky would be Mantle Rock, as it has a span of 156 feet.  There are quite a few significant arches in Kentucky, over 2600 minor arches and most likely closing in on infinite miniature arches in the state.

If you are interested in more information about what is an arch, check out NABS.

Top 5 largest spans in the database in Kentucky.

1. Mantle Rock
2. Rock House Natural Bridge
3. Natural Arch
4. Fishtrap Bridge
5. Sheltowee Trace Arch

With Kentucky having the highest concentration of Natural Arches other than Utah, it would only make sense that Kentucky also has the largest arch East of the Mississippi River.  Located a little less than an hour northeast of Paducah near the Ohio River is the Mantle Rock Nature Preserve.  Inside the preserve is its namesake, a massive 154 foot long alcove arch with a 30 foot tall opening. The nature preserve is a certified site on the Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail.  Approximately 1,800 Cherokee wintered in this area while being forcefully displaced to Oklahoma. That winter of 1838-1839 they were forced to wait along the road near the arch because the Ohio River was frozen and impassable.  It was bitterly cold and it is said many Cherokee died waiting for the river to thaw. There is probably a good chance that some Cherokee made the shelter of Mantle Rock their temporary home during that time.

For more history check out the Nature Preserve's website.

For a map of the Trail of Tears, check out the NPS website that has a really nice one.

A view of Mantle Rock from 1914 (a postcard courtesy of Todd Fife):

A modern view of Mantle Rock:

© Bill Fultz

Mantle rock nature preserve. The Nature Conservancy. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2022, from https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/mantle-rock-preserve/